Come along for fun evening of musical entertainment with Palmerston Ukulele Band playing popular songs from the 50's and 60's.

When: Saturday 1st April

Where: Christ Church, Green Lane, Stamford PE9 1HE

Time: 7.30pm

Tickets: please call Maureen on 01780 789908

The cost of your ticket includes a drink on arrival. There will be a licensed bar and snacks available and a raffle.

About the Palmerston Ukelele Band

The Palmy Ukulele Band was the brainchild of Ian “Bertie” Benton, landlord of The Palmerston Arms, a true community pub.

An appeal on the pub’s blackboard announcing forthcoming events called on ukulele players to “come out” and get together over a beer to share their music.

After a faltering start, in February 2013 a nucleus of uke-lovers finally settled into a once-a-week practice session at the pub, with songs submitted by members and agreed on democratically.

These range from Fifties hits, through country, to pop – in fact any songs that people feel comfortable with, and that sound good on the uke.

This is a friendly band of a dozen or so, embracing all ages…so a teenage uke prodigy might find himself playing alongside someone old enough to have seen George Formby live!

The Palmy players also have a wide range of backgrounds. They include a scientist, an optician, an advertisement manager, a novelist and regular column writer, a web designer and building society worker. Plonking along with them is the man who started it all.

One reason for the band’s rapid progress has been that we’ve been blessed with having a couple of proper musicians in their number – Dan Llewellyn, a Palmy customer who runs a band called The Mighty Persuaders, and veteran bass player Ray Stockton who plays with several local bands.

Another is the encouragement the band has had, from the start, from the supportive regulars who turn up each Thursday to enjoy the band's rehearsal sessions. That band of fans keeps growing (some other customers drop in for a quick pint and end up staying for the free music!)

When the band had been going only a few months, it got a resounding vote of confidence. Through band member Darren Lee, a Peterborough Beer Festival committee member, the Palmy Uke band was booked to appear last summer – and received a fabulous response from an audience of more than 500.

A pub gig followed, and more are planned. The sweet sound of the Palmy Uke Band is spreading…